It was now time for Franc to educate me and my education began with the explanation of what is called a maquette. No, no it’s not that college in Wisconsin that was once an NCAA basketball power. It’s a small clay model of a statue.

Franc was struck by the dichotomy between Ted never tipping his cap and the tenderness of his heart. The heart which devoted countless hours to the kids of the Jimmy Fund.

It was in that dichotomy where Franc’s vision was born. It was Ted’s heart that Franc wanted to “free from the slumbering stone.” It was Ted’s heart which he gave to those kids of the Jimmy Fund! Franc saw Ted, not simply tipping his hat, but GIVING it to a kid, a Jimmy Fund kid!

Franc Talarico had come to know Ted Williams.

Not the superstar baseball player.

Not the “greatest hitter who ever lived.”

Not the hall of fame fisherman.

Not the war hero.

Franc had come to know Ted Williams’ heart and thus had come to know the man.

And Franc’s vision was coming to fruition.

I didn’t see much of Franc for a while. He was locked in his studio breathing life into his vision. Then one day I got a phone call and he told me he needed a human model. He needed a baseball player in uniform and he asked me about my son. My son was a Venice High School baseball player so I asked him and in about a half a second Franc had his model. Josh went to Franc’s studio and Franc took photo after photo after photo. He took shots from every angle and then Franc went back to work on ‘the stone”.

And from a small art studio in the Golden Beach area of Venice Florida, an iconic image was emerging. An image of the heart of a man who was larger than life itself.

To be continued…..

And so it was, at this time in Fenway Park history, the fall of 2002.

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About fenwaypark100

Hello and welcome, my name is Raymond Sinibaldi. An educator for more than two decades, a baseball fan for nearly 60 years, I have authored four books about baseball and her glorious history; with a fifth on the way in late spring of 2015; the first, The Babe in Red Stockings which was co-authored with Kerry Keene and David Hickey. It is a chronicle of Babe's days with the Red Sox. We also penned a screenplay about Babe's Red Sox days so if any of you are Hollywood inclined or would like to represent us in forwarding that effort feel free to contact me through my email. In 2012 we three amigos published Images of Fenway Park in honor of the 100th birthday of Fenway Park. That led to the creation of this blog. The following year, 2013 came my first solo venture, Spring Training in Bradenton and Sarasota. This is a pictorial history of spring training in those two Florida cities. The spring of 2014 brought forth the 1967 Red Sox, The Impossible Dream Season. The title speaks for itself and it also is a pictorial history. Many of the photos in this book were never published before. The spring of 2015 will bring 1975 Red Sox, American League Champions. Another pictorial effort, this will be about the Red Sox championship season of 1975 and the World Series that restored baseball in America. I was fortunate enough to consult with sculptor Franc Talarico on the “Jimmy Fund” statue of Ted Williams which stands outside both Fenway Park and Jet Blue Park Fenway South, in Fort Myers Florida. That story is contained in the near 300 posts which are contained herein. This blog has been dormant for awhile but 2015 will bring it back to life so jump on board, pass the word and feel free to contact me about anything you read or ideas you may have for a topic. Thanks for stopping by, poke around and enjoy. Autographed copies of all my books are available here, simply click on Raymond Sinibaldi and email me.

2 Responses to “The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell, the sculptor’s hand can only break the spell to free the figures slumbering in the stone.” Michaleangelo